Opinion
21-CR-371 (LTS)
06-21-2021
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. FRANK FONTANA, and MICHAEL BESTWINA, Defendants.
ORDER
LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN Chief United States District Judge
An initial pretrial conference in this matter is hereby scheduled to occur as a teleconference on June 24, 2021, at 11:00 a.m.
The parties should call 888-363-4734 and use access code 1527005# and password 1991#. (Members of the press and public may call the same number, but will not be permitted to speak during the hearing.) In accordance with the Court's Emergency Individual Rules and Practices in Light of COVID-19, counsel should adhere to the following rules and guidelines during the conference:
1. Each party should designate a single lawyer to speak on its behalf (including when noting the appearances of other counsel on the telephone).
2. Counsel should use a landline whenever possible, should use a headset instead of a speakerphone, and must mute themselves whenever they are not speaking to eliminate background noise. In addition, counsel should not use voice-activated systems that do not allow the user to know when someone else is trying to speak at the same time.
3. To facilitate an orderly teleconference and the creation of an accurate transcript, counsel are required to identify themselves every time they speak. Counsel should spell any proper names for the court reporter. Counsel should also take special care not to interrupt or speak over one another.
4. If there is a beep or chime indicating that a new caller has joined while counsel is speaking, counsel should pause to allow the Court to ascertain the identity of the new participant and confirm that the court reporter has not been dropped from the call.
Persons granted remote access to proceedings are reminded of the general prohibition against photographing, recording, and rebroadcasting of court proceedings. Violation of these prohibitions may result in sanctions, including removal of court issued media credentials, restricted entry to future hearings, denial of entry to future hearings, or any other sanctions deemed necessary by the court.
SO ORDERED.